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Here’s the Roebling Oil Field Building

We couldn’t attend, but there are at least two reports that convey the substance of the meeting, which included a lot of serious questions from council members, most notably Letitia James. The Historic Districts Council Blog offers this description:

CM Letitia James was methodically going over all her issues with the 700-page report, item by item. To call this unusual would be an understatement. It was great – she questioned specific issues and concerns that had been brought up with alacrity. Even more surprising was that Council members Liu and Yassky also took their turn at bat. CM Liu hounded the reps from EDC on whether or not the Downtown Brooklyn Plan could go forward without this piece (the answer, finally, was “yes” but this part of the Downtown Brooklyn Plan – the parking lot and the “open space” for commercial tenants couldn’t) and CM Yassky was strong on taking a hard look at these historic structures.

In addition, the Underground Railroad Safehouses site offers a very detailed look at the hearing and at the consultant’s report that is now at the heart of the controversy. Even the consultant’s report, which argues for demolition–which is what the Economic Development Corp. which paid the firm the $166 an hour–admits that “more information could be unearthed in the future” showing a definitive link between the Underground Railroad and the Duffield Street houses.

The impact of the City Council is uncertain.

Related Post:
Is City Consultant Deliberately Ignoring Underground Railroad Records?

Running low on tube socks? Be not afraid, for Street Fair Season cometh. The first South Brooklyn expression of the phenomenon is the Court Street Fair, which happens this Sunday (5/6). It’s actually one of the ones we like, along with the Fifth Avenue Fair, possibly because they come early in the season. By the time June rolls around, our instinctive reaction is more along the lines of, “Crap, another street fair.” This is not because we dislike street fairs in principle, but because as has been documented, they are all virtually controlled and programmed by the same company, drawing the same groups of vendors.

Inject some neighborhood flavor into these things by loosening the vice-like grip of the company that produces most of them, Mardi Gras Productions, and they would morph from annoyance to something fun. A couple of years ago, WNYC’s Brian Lehrer provoked some discussion of the generic nature of street fairs in a NY Times op-ed in which he called the fairs “another cog in the economy, posing as part of the neighborhood.” Our favorite analysis comes from the Center for an Urban Future, which concludedthat street fairs are generic and bland.

In the meantime, now that we’re done with the burst of negativity, here’s a very selective list of some of the notable ones, courtesy of the Community Board 6 calendar and a couple of other sources:

May 6—Court Street Fair, Sponsored by the Gowanus Canal Community Development Corporation (GCCDC) on Court Street between President and West 9th Streets. 10AM-6PM

May 20—Fifth Avenue Fair. Fifth Avenue between Flatbush Avenue and 14th Street.

June 9—Brooklyn Pride Street Fair. Prospect Park West between 9th and 15th Streets.

June 17—Seventh Avenue “Seventh Heaven” Street Fair. 7th Avenue between Flatbush Avenue and 15th Street.

June 24—Smith Street Fair. Presented by the South Brooklyn Local Development Corporation on Smith Street between Bergen and Union Streets.

September 30–The 33rd Annual Atlantic Antic on Atlantic Avenue.

Related Post:
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This year’s tour gets underway at Grand Army Plaza, a National Historic Landmark at Prospect Park. This year’s 18 mile tour will feature Brooklyn’s southern neighborhoods along the waterfront like Sunset, Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights and Bensonhurst and loops towards the heart of Brooklyn, Kensington and Prospect Park South to end at the Carousel.

If this is your first time to Brooklyn by bike don’t worry you can join our feeder ride, leaving from Cadman Plaza near Brooklyn Bridge. Ride will depart promptly at 7:45 am, arriving at Prospect Park 8:05 am.

Ah, spring.

A year after the city’s largest inferno in a decade engulfed 15 buildings along the Brooklyn waterfront, the historic site of the Greenpoint Terminal Market remains a charred wasteland and a sore spot for locals.

Nobody has been convicted in the arson fire that broke out on May 2, 2006, and eventually took 6 million gallons of water to extinguish. And nothing has been developed on the scorched earth where the warehouses once stood.

“That fire destroyed one of the most beautiful industrial buildings on the waterfront. and that’s a permanent loss,” Councilman David Yassky, who represents the area, said yesterday. “There’s nothing good about it.”

Some 400 firefighters battled the 10-alarm fire, which burned for 11 hours on a sunny day near Noble St. in Greenpoint. When it was finally extinguished two days later, six square blocks were destroyed. Preservationists had wanted the site to be landmarked.

Plans for the property, which was slated for a huge highrise complex, are pending. For those that are interested, we have a set of the GTM fire aftermath here and of the pre-fire complex here. Also a before and after YouTube video here.

There are 1,215 photos on flickr tagged “greenpoint terminal market.” There are 1,701 photos that are tagged “greenpoint fire.” In addition, you can find cool post-fire exploration photo sets from e-liz and f.trainer.

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My girlfriend and I took at moment to indulge at the Gowanus Yacht Club this Saturday while waiting for the laundry to dry. Couple of thoughts…

– We asked if we could bring a falafel in (who doesn’t love Zaytoons!?) to eat with the beer we were purchasing. We were told we couldn’t and that we would have to order something the club was selling. A quick look at the menu reveals hot dogs and… hot dogs. Nothing really for the vegetarian (and nothing really for anyone who, um, thinks hot dogs are kind of gross). We were forced to drink our beer in hunger!

In all seriousness, why not let us bring our food in if all you’re going to offer is hot dogs? We quickly learned rule #2 — don’t ask. Some others just brought food in and were left alone. Go figure. They did, however, get some stares from the staff..

– The owner(?) and his two bartenders were a little intense. They kept eyeing everyone and walking over to ask if they wanted another. And it wasn’t that “hey, want another?” friendly service that would be appreciated. It was more the, “hey, drink more so I can charge your for another.”

Hmm… Maybe I still have a little winter bitterness in me, but, come on GYC!

We’re certain there are varying opinions on bringing outside food into an establishment, but it gets more interesting, because as our friends at Eater note, the GYC has lost its grill and only seems to be serving boiled hot dogs. Specifically:

When Eater operatives rolled in Saturday night, however, they were met with a cruel surprise—the outdoor grill that has served up burgers, sausage, and grilled hotdogs has been deep-sixed, replaced with a simple wooden counter… Apparently, neighbors on the street, vexed by noise and odors, discovered the grill was illegally installed and successfully petitioned to have it removed during the offseason. The venue had no choice but to cooperate. For now, as the season dawns, the GYC is serving up (boiled) hot dogs only—a fine treat, to be sure, but not the menu of yore we’d come to expect.

Small upsides: a fancier beer list this season, and an ever-so-slightly upgraded bathroom area. Still, once news of GrillGate spreads, can street protests from angry GYC patrons be far behind?

Seems to us that GrillGate backlash is already underway.

There is no shoring of the adjacent foundation, the sidewalk has completely collapsed, there are cracks in the foundation wall at 130 N. 10th.

In other words, just another day in North Brooklyn. It’s supposed to be a four-story building with four units.

• The Journey from UDC to ESDC [AYR]
• Greenpoint Terminal Market Fire A Year Later [NYDN]
• Development Near Kensington Stables [Kensington Brooklyn]
• Park Slope’s Eighth Avenue Crack Building Goes to Rehab [IMBY]
• New Private School in Clinton Hill [Brooklyn Record]
• Does Two Developments Going Rental Make a Trend? [Brownstoner]
• Greenpoint Pastoral [newyorkshitty]
• Mr. Sitt Goes to Lola Staar’s Party [Kinetic Carnival]
• Runs Brooklyn Feels Out Running Again [Runs Brooklyn]
• Sound Fix Cafe in Williamsburg Set to Reopen [Brooklyn Vegan via Brooklyn Record]
• Sneak Peak at Brooklyn Rules [About Brooklyn]

Every time we pass through Wallabout, the neighborhood down by the Brooklyn Navy Yard, we wonder when developers are going to start renovating some of the old buildings or putting up new ones. Last week, of course, the city announced a new mostly affordable housing development on the old Navy Brig site. The new Real Deal has an interesting article by Gabby Warshawer about Wallabout that suggest that it could be the next Dumbo. It even quotes Jed Walentas drawing some parallels between the two neighborhoods. Ms. Warshawer writes:

…the district near Brooklyn’s Navy Yard is poised to steal some of the luster of its well-heeled neighbor to the west.

Wallabout — which encompasses a mile-long stretch north of Fort Greene and Clinton Hill between Flushing and Park avenues near the Navy Yard — is the borough’s latest enclave set to undergo a gritty-to-glam story of urban revival. Several small- to medium-sized trendy retailers have set up shop in the neighborhood within the past few years, bringing increased foot traffic to a stretch of blocks still dominated by warehouses.

The story covers a lot of ground and is absolutely worth a read.

[Photo courtesy Lesterhead/flickr]

Williamsburg activist Phil DePaolo, who has been contacting local officials to investigate the underground oil and its source and is pushing for stepped-up Department of Environmental Conservation monitoring of developments and cleanups, told GL that no reports have been given as yet to City Council Members or to state legislators about any findings about the Roebling Oil Field problem or the source of the oil pollution.

The photo below shows one of the test wells in the sidewalk adjacent to the Roebling Oil Field building and what appear to be oil stains around it.

We missed the Lola Staar party in Coney Island on Sunday because we were busy in Williamsburg and we couldn’t be two places at one time. Bad, bad, bad, bad, bad decision. As it turns out, developer Joe Sitt decided to make an appearance at the Staar party, which took place at Ruby’s on the boardwalk. The Village Voice’s Neil deMause filed this report on the Voice blog Runnin’ Scared:

…the Coney old guard gathered at Ruby’s venerable (and venerated) boardwalk restaurant for a celebration: Dianna Carlin’s Lola Staar Boutique, given up for dead after Sitt refused to extend her lease after a squabble over that same gag order, had reopened, once again making the boardwalk safe for Cyclone baby tees and mermaid floaty pens. Sitt, explains Carlin, had called her the day before the “Save Coney Island” rally she organized at City Hall last month, and after an hour-long phone chat, ultimately agreed to extend her stay through October for “very little money”; Carlin didn’t sign a confidentiality clause, she stresses, and plans to continue to speak out against Thor’s condo plans.

The party featured a hot pink cake and the guitar stylings of Polar Bear Club troubadour Amos Wengler (his “Lola Staar Is Back,” with its singalong chorus of “Don’t mess with Lola/She’s gonna react,” was a particular hit). But all were upstaged when in walked Joe Sitt himself, dressed in shades and a polo shirt. As onlookers goggled, the developer grabbed a plate of sausage and onions, and greeted his erstwhile adversary Carlin like an old friend.

While Sitt wouldn’t comment on the record—he spent much of his time at Ruby’s ducking the videographers who dogged his every step—his Thor associate Digna Rodriguez-Poulton hinted that the fenced-in tire-strewn wasteland that currently occupies much of Thor’s Coney holdings wouldn’t remain that way all summer, with a circus a possibility in July or August.

Given the remarks passed around at the Ruby’s bar, Sitt still has a long way to go to win over a skeptical Coney populace. (“You’re Joe Sitt?” one patron gasped on meeting him. “You don’t have horns!”) Even Carlin, who once again seems hopeful about the future, with a sitdown scheduled with Sitt for next week to discuss his plans, isn’t deluding herself that all is now copacetic: “It’s all about bargaining tactics, and if that doesn’t work, he could be back to evicting us all in a few months.”

It gets curiouser and curiouser.

[Photo courtesy Runnin’ Scared/Village Voice]

The story rightfully should anger you, because this report distorts history. The Duffield St. residents and friends of Brooklyn history are taking their case to the people via you tube. This short film is being submitted as testimony at the May 1st hearing as well.

Expect some pointed remarks at both the press conference and the hearing.

Related Posts:
Duffield Street Underground Railroad Houses Redux
Is City Consultant Deliberately Ignoring Underground Railroad Records?

Brooklinks is a daily selection of Brooklyn related information and images:

• Planning for a Bigger, Greener City [Gotham Gazette]
• The Greening of Lincoln Road [Across the Park]
• Fort Greene/Clinton Hill Rezone: 80-Foot Height Limits Next to Atlantic Yards [AYR]
• Underground Railroad House Debate Goes to City Hall [Sun]
• Taconic Steps into Thor’s Shadow [Kinetic Carnival]
• Rage Against the Big North Brooklyn Banging Machine [newyorkshitty]
• Get in Line to See One Brooklyn Bridge Park [Brownstoner]
• It Came from the Blogosphere [No Land Grab]
• 423 Smith Circa 1930 [423 Smith]
• Clark Street Subway Elevators are Useless [Brooklyn Enthusiast]
• Brooklyn Playgrounds #2 [Big Sky Brooklyn]
• In Case You Need Some Sand [Brooklyn 11211]
• Upcoming Events for Local Art Groups [Dumbo NYC]
• 26th Annual Sakura Matsuri at the BBG [Brooklyn Record]
• Sheepshead Bay in April [Sail Brooklyn]
• Room 58: New Space for Writers [OTBKB]

If this photo doesn’t convey the essence of the building at Carroll Street and Bond Street that we call The Bunker, we’re not sure what will. This shot of workers atop The Bunker was posted on flickr and brought our attention by the photographer, Michael Kuhle, who’s a GL reader. Nice, huh? Also, we noted this weekend that glass is going into the little bunker windows. That should be a fast process as, well, there just aren’t that many of them.

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The Brooklyn Artist’s Gym in Gowanus is opening a shared space for writers called Room 58. Here is some information from the email we got about it yesterday:

In a corner of Brooklyn Artists Gym’s shared studio space for visual artists is Room 58, a new workspace designed specifically for journalists and other research-based writers. Behind the door marked 58 are actually two rooms, an outer office area with desks, fax, printer, research materials and file storage, and an inner quiet room with eight individual cubicles and a couple of nice views of Manhattan.

“For some of our writers, telephone work is essential to what they do,” says Scott Adkins, co-founder of Park Slope’s popular Brooklyn Writers Space (BWS) and partner in the new Room 58/BAG venture. “BWS is a great quiet environment for writers of all genres. But for those writers who also need traditional office capabilities, Room 58 is ideal.”

Down the Slope on the third floor of 168 7th Street, BAG is a hub of creative enterprise. In addition to a large, well-lit studio with room for visual artists to work at any given time, BAG offers a newly renovated gallery space, open figure drawing sessions and a variety of workshops on subjects from beginning bookbinding to accordion folds. The creative energy at BAG is palpable, with exciting possibilities for cross-pollination between artists and writers.

The fee for Room 58 is $375 per quarter, plus a one-time $65 initiation fee. More information here. Writing space in Gowanus, people!

Check out this description of the Ocean Dome and, then, tell us it doesn’t rock:

Perched upon a towel, stretched out on an immaculate white beach, I have turquoise sea in front of me and a cloudless sky overhead. Not a bee, sand fly or mosquito can be seen. The weather is perfect. It’s warm enough for swimming in the inviting sea, but there is no danger of sunburn. A cold drink lays close at hand, along with a thick, juicy novel.

Suddenly, a strange haze drifts into view. Smoke envelops the top of a nearby mountain, which begins spitting out sparks of fire. Eruptions can be most annoying, but not here, not in paradise. As the volcano stirs to life, I don’t even bother. Checking my watch, I see it’s only the half-hour eruption. Returning to my book, I savor a smile. There is still another 30 minutes before the mountain blows its top.

Paradise proceeds with clockwork precision inside Ocean Dome, Japan’s unique, sometimes surrealistic, but utterly updated version of the Garden of Eden. Inside a huge dome that could house six football pitches, the world’s largest artificial sea washes over the biggest indoor beach, fringed with fake palm trees and other eye-popping innovations that have given a holiday make-over to old Mother Nature.

This evocative 21st Century resort shows that even paradise has room for improvement. In Ocean Dome, once every hour, on the hour, the surf is always up. Every afternoon is a carnival. Mechanized parrots squawk from branches of the dome’s ingenious rain forest, which remain lush and tropical without rainfall or humidity. Best of all, in Ocean Dome, you can lull for hours on crushed marble pebbles without a worry about beach vendors, bugs or sun burns.

Instead, perfectly-timed waves whip equally well-groomed surfers along in 28-degree, chlorinated, salt-free water to the sanitized shore where they drip-dry in Ocean Dome’s perfect climate, which remains a delightful 30 degrees, day and night, 365.25 days each year.

Note to Thor Equities: This one’s a winner. It could be the Bellaggio of Water Parks.

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